The Graduation
by Mulderette
Summary: Sam's son, Aiden, graduates from the Keating Military Academy. Team fiction. Contains spoilers for the season 8 finale and season 9 premiere.


_This takes place between "Unleashed" the season 8 finale and the season 9 premiere, "Party Crashers." Now that we found out Aiden graduated from Keating and is now attending Annapolis, I figured a graduation story was in order. I was home sick today so spent the day alternating between sleeping and writing lol. Hope you like it :)_

xxxxx

Sam knocked on his son's door and waited for the familiar "come in" from inside. "Are you ready, Aiden?" Sam asked as he entered the bedroom.

"I'm ready, dad." Aiden turned to look at his father, dressed in his academy dress uniform and holding his hat in his hands.

"You look very nice, son," Sam said, swallowing hard against the sudden flood of emotions that filled him. He couldn't believe how fast time had flown. He could remember the day Aiden was born like it was yesterday and now, now he was graduating with honors from the Keating Military Academy and would be on his way to Annapolis in the fall. If only Michelle could have been here to see it. She deserved to have been there for their son's graduation, but Tahir had robbed her of that moment and so many others. He sighed softly, realizing he couldn't let his thoughts go there. It would be much too easy to lose himself in his grief. Today was about Aiden and he didn't want anything to mar the occasion.

Just then, Kamran came to the room and stood in the doorway. "I'm ready, daddy," she said. Sam turned to his daughter and a lump formed in his throat. Kamran looked lovely. She was wearing a simple white dress that Michelle had bought for her, especially for this occasion, about a week before her death. It seemed like she was growing up before his eyes and she would be going away to school in the fall as well. He wasn't ready to let his thoughts go there yet though. It was too soon and at least he had the summer to spend with his children before they went on to begin new chapters in their lives.

"You look beautiful, Kam," Sam said as his daughter came into his arms for a hug.

"You look great, sis," Aiden said with a grin.

"Thank you, Aiden," Kamran said, smiling at her brother. "You look very handsome."

"Okay, let's go pick up your Uncle G and head to the airport," Sam said.

xxxxx

"The caterers will be there at noon tomorrow," Callen said. He was on the phone with Kensi. The team was going to head to Sam's house in the morning to decorate for Aiden's surprise party. Guests were expected to arrive at 1:30 and as long as their flight was on time, Callen, Sam and the kids would arrive back at the house at around 2 o'clock. "You have the key, right?"

"I do have the key, Callen," Kensi replied. She couldn't resist adding "You do realize I could easily get in even if I didn't have the key, right?"

"I know that, Kens," Callen replied with a smirk, "but I'd rather you didn't break into my partner's house for this."

"Don't worry. Everything's under control. You have a good time today and tell Aiden that Deeks and I said congratulations."

"Will do. Thanks for everything you guys are doing. I know Sam will really appreciate it."

"No problem, Callen. We're all family."

"I know we are…" Callen said. "We'll see you tomorrow."

xxxxx

"So, are you doing okay?" Callen asked. He was seated next to Sam on the plane while Aiden and Kamran were seated across the aisle, both of them immersed in their tablets.

"I'm good, G," Sam said with a nod. His partner was using what should have been Michelle's ticket to the graduation. Sam had thought about having one of Aiden's relatives accompany them, but in the end, he had felt most comfortable with his best friend going along with them. After all, G was family too.

There were a lot of things Callen thought about saying, but he just nodded. He was going to let Sam dictate how much or how little he wanted to talk. After all, he was there to support his partner and his family, not to make things more uncomfortable for Sam.

"So…are things going okay at work?" Sam asked.

Callen nodded. "Yeah, we've been busy…you know how it is…"

"Yeah," Sam said with a nod. He really couldn't even think about work right now. It just seemed so distant to him. There were so many more pressing things he needed to take care of, his children and their needs at the top of his list. He did worry about Callen and the team, but not to the point that it was distracting him from his priorities. He just couldn't let that happen.

"Everything's going to work out, Sam," Callen said, gazing at his partner. "Anything you need from me, anything at all, you just need to ask. I'll always have your back and the team does too."

"Thanks, G…I know you've got my back." It was one of the few things he knew he could count on in his life that had been turned upside down.

xxxxx

The day turned out to be a nice one. There was a brunch for the graduates and their families followed by the graduation ceremony later in the day. Callen had brought a camera with a good zoom lens and he concentrated on photography duties so Sam could just focus on watching the festivities.

Sam watched the ceremony, and did a commendable job of keeping his emotions in check, that was until Aiden's name was called to receive his diploma. At that point, his eyes filled with tears. He knew how much this moment would have meant to Michelle. It was so unfair that it had been taken from her.

Kamran, who was sitting between Sam and Callen, took her father's hand in her own and looked up at him sadly. "Don't worry, daddy," she whispered. "Mom is looking down at Aiden today and smiling."

Sam smiled and put his arm around his daughter, then hugged her close. "Thank you, baby girl," he said, kissing the top of her head. "That's exactly what I needed to hear."

After the ceremony, pictures were taken, group shots and individual shots, plus shots of each of them with Aiden. "Where would you like to go for dinner tonight, Aiden," Sam asked his son, after the last of the pictures had been taken. "Is there anywhere particular around here that you like?"

Aiden shrugged. "We just usually get burgers or pizza, dad, not really the kind of place you'd like to go for dinner."

"Well, do you know where any of your friends are going with their families?" Sam asked. He wanted to go somewhere nice but he didn't really know the area. This is where Michelle would have planned ahead and made reservations for them at some nice place. He hadn't even thought to do that.

"We don't talk about that kind of thing, dad," Aiden said, grinning at his father.

"Can you at least tell me what you'd like to eat?" Sam asked.

"Steak?" Aiden suggested.

Sam nodded. "Okay, good, that's a start."

"I'll try to find a nearby steakhouse on my phone, Sam," Callen said as they headed back to the rental car. He also needed to text Deeks and make sure he could pick up the cake or if he had too much on his plate, maybe Eric could go get it. Callen had prepaid for it, but he wouldn't be able to pick it up without ruining the surprise. He didn't like having to ask the team to do everything, but they had been great about it, eager to make the party a nice one for Sam and his family.

Callen found a steakhouse called Oliver's with very good reviews so he called and was able to get a reservation. "We're all set for 6 o'clock," he said, glancing at his partner. "It's pretty close to the hotel."

"Thanks, G," Sam said. "Why don't we go check in and get settled and then we can head over to the restaurant later on."

"Sounds good."

Sam glanced at his kids through the rearview mirror but they were both absorbed with their tablets once again. "One of these days, I'm going to take those tablets away so we can have some real conversation," Sam said.

"You know you won't do that," Callen said, grinning at his partner. "It's a new age, my friend. It's just the way things are these days, not like when we were kids." He couldn't even imagine growing up the way Sam's kids had, but he had to admit it would have been pretty terrific if he had, a far cry from his own childhood.

Sam glanced over at his partner, but was glad to see G didn't seem particularly bothered by the reference to his childhood. Sometimes, he would get a look in his eyes that Sam knew meant he was thinking back to something awful that had happened to him when he was a boy. It didn't happen as often as it used to, but Sam knew that G still had his bad memories that he mostly kept buried, although sometimes he would let little pieces of them escape.

They arrived at the hotel and went to their rooms for a short while before dinner. Sam had gotten a two bedroom suite so that Kamran could have her own room and Callen had insisted on just getting his own room. He thought it was important for Sam and his children to have some family time although Sam had tried to get his friend to reconsider, thinking it was just a waste of money. Callen would also have privacy to be able to touch base with his team one more time to discuss the party. He knew they had it under control and suspected that he was driving them nuts. He just really wanted everything to go well though.

xxxxx

Deeks clicked off his phone and looked at Kensi who was openly grinning at him. "What did he want this time?" she asked.

"He wanted to know if I could pick up the cake although he already asked me that the other day and I said it wasn't a problem. Can you believe him?"

Kensi giggled. "I think it's cute, Deeks," she said. "He just wants everything to be perfect. He's probably never done anything like this before. Do Callen and party planner go hand in hand when you think about it?"

"I guess you're right," Deeks said, with a smirk. "We'd better not screw anything up though. We'll never hear the end of it if we do. I wonder why he didn't ask for Hetty's help."

"I just think he really wanted to plan this himself. You know how much Sam and his family mean to him."

"I do know that," Deeks said, serious now. "I really want this to be a great party for Aiden as well. They deserve a little bit of happiness after all they've gone through."

Kensi nodded, suddenly sad as she went to Deeks and he took her into his arms. They had so much to be thankful for right now that it almost made her feel guilty sometimes to think about what Sam and his family were going through. "We're going to make it the best party we can for them," she said softly as she and Deeks held each other tightly.

xxxxx

They arrived at Oliver's a little before six and were promptly seated. Callen had brought his camera so he could show Sam and his family the pictures he had taken. As Sam scrolled through the pictures, he had to admit he was impressed. "I didn't know you were such a photographer, G," he said as he passed off the camera to Aiden. "These are really good."

"I like taking pictures," Callen said with a shrug, blushing slightly at the unexpected compliment. He had first developed an interest in photography when he had been staying at one of the better foster families. The foster dad had been a photographer and had taken Callen out a few times to take pictures and had taught him some things. Of course, he hadn't really been able to develop the interest after that, not until the Christmas he had asked Hetty for a camera and she had come through giving him a top notch model and enrolling him in a photography class which he had really enjoyed.

"Guess it's true that you learn something new every day," Sam said contemplatively. The dinner went well. Callen, Sam and Aiden all ordered steaks while Kamran opted for seafood as she wasn't much of a meat eater. Callen was attentive to the kids which Sam appreciated. He was missing his wife so much and wasn't as engaging as he would have been if she had been there with them.

"Man, I am stuffed," Callen said, pushing aside the rich piece of chocolate cake of which he had not even eaten half of. "Anyone want this?"

"I'll have it," Aiden said eagerly. He had already finished off his own dessert of crème brulee. Callen pushed off the plate to Sam's son as Kamran looked on, shaking her head.

"I don't understand how you can eat all that," Kamran commented.

"Of course you can't," Aiden said. "You eat like a bird. I eat like a man."

Kamran just rolled her eyes and giggled. Sometimes her brother thought he was so grown up, but she knew the truth.

After Sam paid the bill, they went out to the car and then headed back to the hotel. They were all quiet during the ride, each immersed in their own thoughts. When they got back to the hotel, the kids said goodnight to Callen while the men stood out in the hallway. "You sure you don't want to come in for a bit, G?" Sam asked.

Callen shook his head. "No, I'm good, Sam," he replied.

"Well, I just want to thank you for coming out here with us. I appreciate it and I know the kids do too."

"You know I'd do anything for you and your kids, Sam," Callen said. "And no thanks are necessary. It was my pleasure."

Sam nodded as he pulled his friend into a one-armed hug and then let him go. "Good night, G. I'll see you in the morning. We'll get some breakfast before heading out to the airport."

"Sounds good, Sam," Callen said. "Goodnight."

xxxxx

"I think everything looks perfect, don't you, Nell?" Kensi asked as they put the last touches on the table decorations out in Sam's backyard. Deeks and Eric had done an outstanding jobs stringing up streamers and balloons and there was a large banner which read "Congratulations Aiden."

"I think so too." Nell nodded happily in agreement. "They're going to be so surprised."

"Do you need us to do anything else, ladies?" Deeks asked as he and Eric walked over to them. "Your wish is our command."

"I think we're pretty much all set," Kensi said as she gave Deeks a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you, Deeks. You and Eric did a wonderful job."

"Yeah, it does look pretty good," Deeks said, looking admiringly around the yard. There was a ton of food with decorated tables and chairs which had been rented for the occasion. "Callen must have spent some bucks for this. You think we should offer him something towards it?"

Kensi shook her head. "I already tried. He was insistent that he pay for it himself."

Deeks thought about that for a few moments and then grinned as he looked at Kensi. "You think maybe he'll pay for our wedding too if we play our cards right?"

Kensi playfully socked him in the arm and then started walking back towards the house. "Come on," she said. "Guests should be starting to arrive at any minute."

xxxxx

As Sam drove down the street, nearing the house, he couldn't help but notice the large amount of cars parked in the neighborhood. It didn't really raise his suspicions until he saw Kensi and Deeks' vehicle though. He looked at his partner who had his head turned away as he looked out the window. "What did you do, G?" Sam asked softly.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Callen whispered back, still keeping his attention diverted away from his partner.

Sam glanced back at his kids who seemed unaware of anything going on and pulled into the driveway. "We're home," he said as Aiden and Kamran eagerly started to get out of the car.

"Uh, it's a nice day," Callen said. "Maybe we should go hang in the yard for a while?" He knew Sam had realized what was going on, but not Aiden and that was the main objective, to surprise the graduate.

Sam nodded. "Come on, kids, let's get some fresh air." Neither Aiden nor Kamran questioned their father and they obediently trailed behind Callen and Sam as they made their way out to the backyard where everyone yelled "Surprise!"

Aiden looked utterly flabbergasted, but happily so and he turned to his father, his eyes shining. "Dad?" he questioned.

Sam shook his head. "Don't look at me," he said. "I didn't know about it either." At that point, everyone started coming over to them to give Aiden their best wishes. There were relatives from both Sam and Michelle's sides of the family as well as many of the family's friends from the neighborhood.

Callen took a few pictures and then went over to where Kensi and Deeks were standing. "Thanks a lot, guys. You did a great job," he said.

Deeks eyed the camera around Callen's neck curiously. "What is this? G Callen, photographer?"

Callen laughed. "Hardly. I've just been taking pictures of Sam and the kids this weekend so they didn't have to deal with it themselves."

"That's a pretty fancy camera, Callen," Kensi said. "A DSLR? Most people would have just used their phones these days."

Callen nodded. "It's an older one though. I'd like to get a better one, one of these days, just haven't really had time to do so."

"So are you like a professional or what?" Deeks asked, still surprised to find that Callen was into photography. "Could you take pictures of me surfing sometime?"

"Sure," Callen shrugged. "I mean, I can't guarantee the results, but I'd do it if you want."

"Don't let him downplay his talent," Sam said, coming over to them. "He's really good." He threw his arm around Callen's shoulders and pulled him into a playful hug. "So, I take it I have you to thank for this little shindig, G?" he asked.

Callen quickly shook his head. "The team was really helpful, Sam. They were here decorating and putting all this together before we got here. Eric and Nell helped too. All I had to do was show up."

"Don't let him sell himself short, Sam," Kensi said. "He planned the whole thing. We just helped him out with the execution."

"Well, thanks guys, I really appreciate everything you did here," Sam said. He looked over to where Aiden was still accepting congratulations from guests. "It's a really nice thing for my son." He knew both his children were still grieving their mother and to have a little bit of a celebration in the midst of all the sadness was good for them.

Kensi and Deeks then went off to say hello to Aiden and Sam turned to his partner. "Thanks, G…"

"You're welcome, Sam," Callen said quickly. "Now go enjoy the party. A lot of these people are here for you, not just Aiden. "Go."

Sam chuckled. "All right, G," he said with a nod. "I'll catch up with you later."

"This was a good thing you did for him today, Mr. Callen," Hetty said as she seemingly came out of nowhere and was suddenly by his side.

"No big deal, Hetty," Callen said. "Anyone would have done the same."

"Ms. Blye is right, you do try to sell yourself short," Hetty commented. She then looked at the camera. "I haven't seen you with a camera in a long time, unless it's for work. I didn't realize you had taken up the hobby again."

"Sometimes…" Callen said. "I figured it would be good to take pictures over the weekend. One less thing for Sam to have to worry about."

"You take good care of your partner, Mr. Callen."

"Well, he's always taken good care of me too, Hetty," Callen said. "You know that."

"Indeed I do, Mr. Callen," Hetty said, nodding. "The two of you are very good for each other."

Callen looked over at Sam who was now laughing with his arms around his children as he spoke with someone Callen didn't know. "I just hope…" he trailed off, his eyes distant.

"You hope what?" Hetty asked, looking up at him curiously.

"I hope Sam comes back to work," Callen said. "I know he has things going on now over the summer, but…"

"I don't think you need to worry about that," Hetty said, lightly patting his arm. "He'll be back all in good time, Mr. Callen. He's not going to abandon you and your team. I feel quite strongly about that."

"I guess you're right," Callen said, nodding.

"But for now, I've seen quite a lot of delicious looking food over there. Why don't you and I go get ourselves something to eat," Hetty said as she took his arm.

Callen laughed. "Okay, Hetty, let's do that."

xxxxx

The party turned out to be an even bigger success than Callen could have hoped for. Every time he looked at Sam and the children and saw them laughing or smiling, it did his heart good. It was close to six now and Callen started to do some cleanup. A short time later, Deeks joined him. "Good party," Deeks commented as he threw some used party plates and cups into a trash bag.

Callen nodded. "I think they had a good time."

"They definitely did. You did good, Callen."

"We all did good, Deeks."

"You guys need some help?" Eric asked as he came over to them.

"The more the merrier," Deeks said. Some people were starting to leave the party now while Nell and Kensi came over and joined the cleanup crew.

"So how was the graduation ceremony?" Kensi asked Callen as she worked beside him.

"It was really nice," Callen recalled.

"I'd imagine Sam was pretty emotional," Deeks remarked.

"Yeah…yeah, he was," Callen said. "Overall, he did okay though."

"Yeah, well…lots of ups and downs with something like this," Kensi said. "It's a difficult thing." She looked over at Deeks and inwardly shuddered at the thought of something like that happening to him. She didn't know if she would ever be able to get through it.

"Hey guys," Sam said as he walked over to them. "You don't need to do this. You've already done more than enough. The kids and I can take care of it."

"Aiden is the guest of honor, Sam," Deeks said. "He's not cleaning up from his own party."

"Deeks is right, just relax, big guy," Callen said grinning at his partner. "We've got this."

"Thanks…" Sam said, looking touched by what the team was doing. "Thanks for everything you've done for us today."

"Go see to your guests, Sam," Deeks said, patting him on the shoulder. "We'll have this cleaned up before you know it."

xxxxx

After the cleanup duty was finished, Callen, Deeks, Kensi, Eric, Nell and Hetty, sat around one of the tables, eating cake.

"This is really good cake," Kensi said. "How did you know about this bakery?" She and Deeks had never even heard of it until they had gone to pick the cake up.

"It had good reviews online," Callen said. "I figured what the heck, I'd check it out."

"So, it looks like Sam had a good day," Nell commented looking over to where he was chatting with some of his family members.

"I think so," Callen said, nodding. "At least I hope he did."

"Mr. Callen, stop that," Hetty scolded lightly. "He and the children had a very nice day. You all should be very proud of what you did here today." She smiled fondly at all of them.

They finished their cake, chatting amicably and then Sam and Aiden walked over to the group. "I just wanted to say thanks to all of you for throwing me this great party," Aiden said, giving them a bit of a shy smile. "It was a big surprise and I really appreciate it." He then turned to Callen. "Dad told me that you planned this, Uncle Callen…It was a really terrific thing for you to do for me. It also means a lot that you came to my graduation." He then gave Callen a heartfelt hug.

"I wanted to do it, Aiden," Callen said gruffly as he returned the boy's hug and worked on keeping his emotions in check. "I'm glad you had a good time."

"I had the best time," Aiden said. "Thanks again," he said, turning to look at the others and then he went off to be with his friends.

"So you guys want to bring home some cake?" Sam asked as he sat down with them. "There's tons of it left. That was an awful big cake, G. You're definitely taking some of it home."

"We'll take some too," Kensi said. "I think it's really good."

"Well, we probably should get it now then," Deeks said as he stood up and stretched. "I'd say it's about time we got going."

"Can you give me a lift home?" Callen asked Deeks who nodded.

"Sure, no problem, man. Go get some cake and we'll get going."

"I'll get you some cake," Kensi said to Callen.

"I could drive you home, G," Sam said as he got to his feet also. "I was planning on it."

Callen shook his head. "Why go out if you don't have to, Sam? Stay here and relax." He started to go follow after Deeks but Sam grabbed his arm.

"I don't think I've really emphasized how much this weekend meant to me," Sam said.

"Sure you did, Sam," Callen said. "You've thanked me more than once. It's no big deal though."

"That's where you're wrong, G…it was a very big deal. I think you're underestimating how much help you were to me and the kids this weekend. I…I just want you to know how much I appreciate it."

"Sam…you're my best friend," Callen said, shaking his head, not comfortable with all the praise he was getting. "Any little thing I can do to make things easier for you guys, I'm going to do. I just want you all to get through this and to be okay."

Sam nodded and then pulled his friend into an embrace and held him tightly for a few moments. "Thank you, G…for everything."

"You're welcome, Sam… Just call me if you want to talk or hang out…whatever you want, okay?" Callen suddenly felt very emotional, as if he wasn't going to see his friend at all over the summer. He hoped that wouldn't be the case.

"I will G…you take care of yourself…and the team. Be careful out there."

"We will. You take care too, Sam…"

Sam nodded and watched as Callen caught up to Kensi and Deeks and Kensi handed him a foil wrapped plate of cake. He knew G fully expected him to return to work after his kids returned to school, but he really didn't know if that would be the case. He didn't want to worry his friend needlessly though until a final decision had been made. He just wasn't really sure what it was that he wanted. As he watched his team members head out though, he really didn't know if he would be able to keep away from them either. Only time would tell.


End file.
